test
/tɛst/ · tes·t
noun
- A challenge, trial. The exam was a tough test of her knowledge.
- A cupel or cupelling hearth in which precious metals are melted for trial and refinement. The alchemist used a test to refine the gold.
- An examination, given often during the academic term. She had to take a test to pass the course.
verb
- To challenge. Climbing the mountain tested our stamina.
- To refine (gold, silver, etc.) in a test or cupel; to subject to cupellation. The goldsmith tested the gold by heating it in a test.
- To put to the proof; to prove the truth, genuineness, or quality of by experiment, or by some principle or standard; to try. She tested the soundness of the principle by conducting an experiment.
Did you know? The word 'test' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰeh₁- 'to cause to burn', which is also the source of the word 'to toast'.